Charlie's Angels: Code of Fate
by Coney Cat
Summary: *Updated 7/11* Dylan's day just keeps getting worse and worse...Takes place after FT.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Incoherent Babbling: Hello everybody! Today is June 27th and you know what that means! Time to water your plants! No but really, today is the day Charlie's Angels Full Throttle comes out into theaters and since I went to Barnes and Noble in May and bought the novelization I know everything that's going to happen. That can work to a writers advantage. ^.~ So yes I decided I didn't like the ending to FT too much! So what would you do if you were in my shoes? You'd write a sequel!! Who gets a cookie for guessing right? Okay so I don't own anything in this chapter except the trash cans, and the cat which I would also like to mention. No cats were harmed or impersonated in the making of this fic. Allllllso! If you have not seen FT yet but plan to and REALLY hate spoilers, pleeeeeease do not read beyond this point because there's a big part at the end which is cool but it's not and it's not some thing you want to spoil!   
  
  
  
It was foggy, ground was damp, and there was a chill in the air. Yep, it was your typical alley. Dylan sensed someone near her but kept walking to not let on. Mist rose from the ground as if had just stopped raining but as far as Dylan remembered it hadn't rained at all that day.   
  
Dylan wiped her head to the left as the sound of something by the trash cans caught her attention. From behind the clutter stepped out a smoky gray cat who padded over to Dylan. "Ooh," Dylan cooed. "Aren't you a pretty kitty?" and began to stroke the cat's long body while it wove in and out of her legs purring up a storm.  
  
Sensing something behind her Dylan moved quickly to her left as a blade dropped barely missing her. Dylan flipped her hair back noticing the purring had been cut awfully short only to see the cat caught under the blade. Blinking she looked to her attacker. Though there were a few scars on his face there was no mistaking him. It was Seamus O'Grady.  
  
_But...I saw him die_ Dylan thought. Dylan looked back up just in time to see Seamus throwing the cat over his shoulder as he ran at her. Her reflexes couldn't act in time and she used her own strength of her arms by holding him back. When he wasn't looking she lifted her feet under his stomach and pushed with all the strength.  
  
Seamus flew back landing on his back. With no trouble he stood up and glared at Dylan who had managed to get up quickly enough. "Are you going to make this hard or easy Helen, because I can handle both." Seamus leered.  
  
"How about both?" Dylan said coldly. "Easy for me, hard for you." Seamus growled lunging for her again not liking her little joke. With one swift kick she knocked the blade from Seamus' hand. which landed not too far behind her. He lowered his head and butted her towards the brick wall. Dylan groaned as she slammed against it. Seamus used this chance to grab the knife which laid inches away.   
  
Dylan moved from the brick wall to attack Seamus but before she could he swung his left arm at her head as hard as he could knocking her to the ground. Slowly she rolled over to her back only to find Seamus standing over her. "I'm going to enjoy watching you finally die Helen..." He lowered himself to his knees using one hand to pin Dylan's arms down on her chest. He raised the blade high ready to stab, "Any last words?"  
  
Summoning all the spit up in her mouth she lunged it into his face. "That's cute Helen. Real cute."  
As Seamus wiped the spit from his face Dylan heard footsteps running from somewhere not too far. Seamus must have heard it too because he stopped and listened for a second. By the time Seamus bothered to look up it was too late.   
  
Next thing Dylan remembered seeing was a shoe smashing right into Seamus' face. She squinted up to see who had done it but the light from the lamp post shadowed the face. The mysterious person offered Dylan their hand which she took in gratitude. Once standing up a wave of dizziness took over her causing her to fall against the mysterious person for support. When she could stand clearly again she looked up only to come face-to-face with The Thin Man.   
  
The Thin Man smiled as he watched Dylan's eyes grow wide. "But I saw--" Dylan stopped short as she heard the cock of a gun. Seamus stood a few feet away with a gun aiming at both.  
  
"Enough of the Child's play. Now isn't this cute? Your little mute friend thought he could save you," Seamus' eyes darted back and forth. "The same mute friend who should be dead...." Dylan lunged towards Seamus but The Thin Man kept a strong grip on her arms. "Now Helen...maybe we wouldn't be here if you hadn't opened your big mouth," Seamus slowly walked towards Dylan and The Thin Man keeping the gun aimed at both.   
  
"We had something special..." Seamus walked up right to Dylan's face and placed the gun under her chin. "But you threw it all away...all I ever did was kill someone. You don't even know why I did it..." Seamus moved the gun and kept walking around the two. When he stopped again he aimed the gun less than inches from The Thin Man's temple. "Since he should have died before, how about if I kill him first?"  
  
"Don't you touch him," Dylan growled through clenched teeth. She slowly turned her head locking eyes with Seamus. Out of the corner of her eye she saw The Thin Man calmly looking straight ahead. Seamus lowered the gun from The Thin Man's temple and walked away from the two.   
  
"Okay. I'll make you an offer," Seamus quickly turned around expecting the two to have moved from where they were standing, only to his disappointment they hadn't budged. "I'll let you decide who dies. Helen if you die, your friend can go free...if he dies, you go free," Seamus smirked.   
  
Dylan studied Seamus' face. "What's the catch?"  
  
"No catch, except one of you has to die." Seamus smiled proudly of his little plan. Dylan looked to The Thin Man unsure of what to do. The Thin Man on the other hand knew what he wanted to do. Letting go of his grip on Dylan he went to step forward but Dylan pulled him back.  
  
Astonished he looked to Dylan for an explanation. "I'm not worth killing yourself for. It's really sweet but I'm the one he's after...not you, it's my problem." Dylan struggled out the last few words as her throat tightened. Using his thumb The Thin Man wiped away a tear that had been oblivious to her. Looking up into his eyes she saw that he had made up his mind and wasn't about to change it.  
  
"Any year now," Seamus said rather bored. The Thin Man broke from Dylan's grip and stepped forward. "Aw, Dylan...your new little boyfriend is going to die for you." Seamus raised the gun and slipped his finger in front of the trigger. "Any last words?" Seamus chuckled. "Guess not." and with that Seamus pulled the trigger.  
  
The next thing Dylan remembered was kneeling on the ground lifting The Thin Man on to her lap. She could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks now as she searched for any sign of life in his eyes which stared blankly back at her. "I'm sorry..." The Thin Man slowly raised his hand past her face to a few strands of hair. Gripping it slowly he started to tug but his fingers loosened and his arm fell letting it land where it was to land. The Thin Man was finally dead. Slowly she looked up at Seamus who stood there just watching with pleasure. "Would you get out of here? He's dead, you can leave now, you did what you wanted to do."  
  
Seamus let out a laugh. "I knew he'd sacrifice himself first. If he let you die first, who'd he tell? The point is your still alive...and talking so I'm afraid the only real catch was that you'd have to die first for one of you to go home free."  
  
"Why didn't you just kill me? Why did you have to kill him?" Dylan said softly with realization of what he was planning to do.   
  
"Eh" Seamus shrugged and aimed the gun at Dylan. "It just shows how much I really hate you." and with that Seamus pulled the trigger once again.  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Author's Incoherent Babbling: Hello everybody! Hope you enjoyed the little cliffhanger from chapter one. Pay attention to the dates that I list. It goes back a week for a bit then goes back to the present time. To understand the joke about the muffins at the end you'll have to read my prequel to this fic, "Two's Company, Three's A Crowd" which will be out soon, hopefully. ^_^;_  
  
Pierson Industries 8:30am---Friday 10/11/03_  
  
Geoffrey Pierson sat behind his desk writing fiercely. The threats had been coming since the week before last. He glanced to this morning's paper which he had open to the obituary section  
  
**_"Franklin Thompson dead at 39"_**  
  
  
Frank had been a good friend, some how the enemy knew this so they used it to their advantage. The paper stated the death as a suicide but Geoffrey knew Frank had no reason to kill himself. Sure the divorce two years ago had been rough but Frank bounced back, he became a new man.   
  
As his pen flew across the paper line after line Geoffrey looked to the metal safe box every five seconds just so he could reassure himself that it was still there. Once he finished this letter to his secretary, his son anyone who needed to know would know where he was going. He needed to leave before they got him like they did Frank so he decided to go to England where he would stay with a friend.  
  
As he sealed the envelope one of the wooden doors to his office opened. He tensed for a moment until he looked up and saw his secretary. "Good Morning Mr. Pierson" she said in her warm and cheery voice. She walked over and put his cup of coffee on the coaster like she did so many times before.  
  
"Ah, thanks Jane" Geoffrey said slipping the envelope under some papers. "You're here awfully early. Any reason why?"  
  
Jane walked to the wooden door she had left ajar. She shut it quietly and turned around with a secretive smile. "Yes, actually..." She reached behind and pulled out a small silver pistol. "Give me the code." she said the smile completely slipped off her face.  
  
"Jane..." Geoffrey said in disbelief. "You can kill me, you can get the code but you'll never decipher it. It would take someone smart to do that." he said putting his hand on the safe box as if that would protect it.  
  
"Ouch, that hurt, but less than this will." Jane said before shooting him in the head. She lowered the gun and let it drop to the floor. Behind her the wooden door opened again and arms slipped around her from behind. "I did it...I kill him." she said faintly.  
  
"Yes, you did. Good work Janey." the voice said soothingly. He let go of Jane wanting to get his hands on the gray safe box. He walked over and picked it up slowly as if it might be booby-trapped. He turned the small box over in his hands examining each detail. He snickered at the sight of the small lock, the type that would be on a diary of a little girl. This would be too easy. He glanced up at Jane who looked pailer than ever. He went over to Jane making sure to pick up the gun. He put one arm around Jane and led her out the room. "Good job Janey. All you have to do now is finish what you started."  
  
  
_Chateau Maramount 6:45am--Monday 10/14/03_  
  
Falling was the next feeling Dylan felt. She gasped as she hit the floor. Slowly she looked around recognizing the room in the dark to be her bedroom. She was safe and it had all turned out to be another haunting dream. Her skin was hot and clammy which made her bed sheets harder to pull off. Dylan finally stood and made her way to the window. After pushing at it the humidity finally gave away and the window opened. She looked outside at all the lights that were still on and the sky that was beginning to gain color.   
  
After cooling down Dylan shut the window and looked to her clock. Just barely fifteen minutes until she would normally wake. _I might as well get ahead start..._ she thought heading for the shower. By the time she was ready and down to her car she was already back on schedule. After lowering the top to her car and putting on her sunglasses she realized how great it felt to be back home. A week earlier she let it slip out how she had been having trouble sleeping with the recurring dreams and with Charlie always putting his Angels health first sent Dylan on a week long trip to Maui, Hawaii. Alex and Natalie reassured her not to worry and that they'd pick out a perfect temporary replacement.  
  
  
Dylan entered the meeting room only to find it empty. Throwing her bag on one of the couches she walked around the room a bit seeing everything was the way it was before she had left. She nearly jumped five feet in the air when the phone rang. Going over to Basle's desk she pressed the button to turn on Charlie's new and improved speaker-box. "Good Morning Angels" Charlie beamed.  
  
Dylan let out a yawn before answering. "Good Morning Charlie," Dylan went over to the couch and sat down. "It's just me here right now."   
  
"Welcome back Dylan! Still having dream troubles?"  
  
"Afraid so Charlie," Dylan said while leaning forward to grab a muffin off the table. She sniffed at it to make sure it wasn't one of Alex's creations. Once clear it was safe she unwrapped the paper lining and began to eat it.  
  
A few moments later Natalie and Alex entered talking about something. They stopped dead in their tracks once they spotted Dylan on the couch eating her muffin. "Dylan!" Natalie exclaimed rushing over to give her a big hug. "You're finally back!"  
  
Dylan looked to Alex who took a seat on the other side and shrugged. "I didn't know I was missed that much."  
  
"Well you weren't" Alex said giving Dylan a look to show her she was only kidding. "But ever since we hired your replacement, Natalie couldn't wait for you to get home."  
  
Dylan scrunched up the wrapper to the bottom of her muffin and shot it towards the waste basket barely missing it. "Speaking of my replacement," Dylan got up and threw away the wrapper properly. "How did they do?"  
  
"Oh Dylan!" Natalie gushed. "They were great! We didn't have any big missions or anything but they were a big help."  
  
Dylan slumped back on the couch and crossed her arms. "Too bad I won't get to meet them" she said half-heartedly.  
  
"Oh but you will Dylan," Charlie said speaking up. "I told them to come in today to say goodbye and so that you could meet them."  
  
In the hallway footsteps could be heard approaching towards the meeting room. "In fact, that's probably him now," Alex suggested. The door then opened and in walked Max and Bosley. "Oh" Alex said not even trying to hide her disappointment. "It's just Max and Basle."  
  
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Bosley shot back.  
  
"Hey Alex...Natalie...Dylan...DYLAN!" Max rushed over and took a seat on the other side next to Dylan. "Welcome back, so did you bring me anything?" he said scanning  around her to see if she might have had it out ready and waiting for him.  
  
Dylan giggled at Max's hyperness at nine in the morning. "The only thing I brought back with me was a bad sunburn, sorry to disappoint you."  
  
"Oh well that's okay," Max said looking around the room. "Hey did you meet your replacement yet?"  
  
"No, all I've heard is that how great they are." Dylan said beginning to pick at another muffin. "So, what's their name?"   
  
Max went to open his mouth but before he could get any sound out Natalie reached in front of Dylan and clamped her hand over Max's mouth. "We can't tell you, it's a surprise!" Natalie then pulled her hand away from Max's mouth as she squealed. "Ew! He licked my hand!" Max grinned and stuck his tongue out at her.  
  
"Didn't you ever learn that trick when you were little?" Bosley asked. "I taught him that one myself."  
  
"Yes, Uncle Bosley has been a positive role model for me" Max said proudly.  
  
"If we hurry it might not be too late to save him," Alex said then ducking to avoid the pillow Basle threw at her.  
  
"But your replacement taught me a lot too," Max picked a piece from Dylan's muffin and ate it before continuing. "He taught me  how to pick a lock using a toothpick!"  
  
Alex rolled her eyes. "That's amateur stuff, there are over a hundred other household items you can use to pick a lock. Bobby pin, coat hanger, nail-" Alex's eyes locked with Natalie and they broke into a huge grin as they heard the footsteps approaching.   
  
"I'll be right back!" Natalie jumped from her seat and went out the door closing it behind her. Dylan sighed at all the big fuss towards the replacement. It was probably some FBI agent that she had never head of but would probably have to pretend to just so it wouldn't seem that the surprise was for nothing. Or maybe it was Charlie... From outside the room Dylan could hear Natalie talking to whoever it was. A few seconds later Natalie came back in and shut the door behind her but kept her hand on the knob. She gave a small giggle before continuing. "Okay...ready?" Dylan rolled her eyes and nodded. Natalie grinned and pulled the door open towards her. "Ta-da!"  
  
Dylan wondered what the heck kind of joke they were trying to pull seeing no one standing there but then The Thin Man walked into the door way with an almost embarrassed look on his face not seeing why it was such a big deal. Everyone else looked to Dylan to see her expression. Her eyes grew wide and a look of shock mixed with confusion took form on her face.   
"Yay!" Natalie giggled and began to jump up and down. "She's surprised!"  
  
"Yeah I'd say so," Max said leaning to look at Dylan's expression more clearly then began waving his hand in front of her face.   
  
Alex patted the spot next to her. "Come in, sit down. I'm sure Dylan has tons of questions." she said with a secretive smile. Before last week The Thin Man would have rather fed himself to sharks than to sit next to her but they eventually had work out their differences to be a good team.   
  
Dylan snapped from her shock at the mention of her name. "Huh, oh yeah..." she said slowly wondering what there was to ask. "Well, what kind of stuff did you do last week?"   
  
Natalie ran over to the couch and nudged The Thin Man closer to Alex so she could sit. "Ohh! Monday we had to switch a counterfeit jewel with the real one, and there was this little old lady. She was sooo cute! And she made us cookies which were really good too!" she said with her speech getting faster as she talked.  
  
Charlie cleared his throat. "Natalie, relax there will be plenty of time to tell Dylan that later. Right now Angels we have a new case. Monday morning Geoffrey Pierson was found murdered in his office. The secretary who found him said that he was dead when she went in to give him coffee. Mr. Pierson's son Ian, discovered a letter he had written saying he had been planning to go to England because of some threats to get the code he had been working on."  
  
"Wait," Alex said. "Is this the same Pierson of Pierson Online?"  
  
"Right on the ball Alex, Pierson had been working on a special top secret code for the U.S. Government on the side. Ian knew it was kept in a small silver box but found when he search his father's office it was no where to be found. Ian hired you us to find the box and get it safely returned."   
  
"Easier said than done," Dylan said tossing her leftover muffin on the table. She had lost her appetite since the surprise was sprung on her. "Do we have any leads?"  
  
"Ian said he believes it was his Father's rival. Jeff Kenley. Mr. Pierson had beaten him out of getting the job from the government. I already looked into it and Mr. Kenley is having a costume party for Halloween."  
  
"A little early for Halloween," Max added.  
  
"I've already managed to get an invitation for you guys," Charlie continued. "The way I see it is two of you girls can be Bosley's date and-"  
  
Bosley's eye grew wide at the mention of his name. "Ohhh no! I'm not going to be their date again. Last time you guys almost me killed! Besides, I've got to watch Max tonight. Mama's got her bingo club."  
  
"Ohh Bos!" Natalie half whined. "If you won't take us, who will?"  
  
"I don't know," Bosley said covering Max's mouth who was trying to volunteer himself. After pulling his hand away suddenly he glanced at The Thin Man who looked as if he hadn't been paying much attention to what was going on. "Why not him?"  
  
Alex seemed to think it over a minute then grinned. "That's a perfect idea Bosley!" The Thin Man who as Bosley guessed had been not paying attention wondered why they were talking about him. "If you have any objections just say something." Alex said to him. The Thin Man looked around perplexed as to what she was talking about.   
  
"Then it's settled," Charlie said. "Thin Man, you'll escort Alex and Dylan to the costume party."   
  
The Thin Man's eye widened as he heard what Charlie just said and began shaking his head no and pulling his index finger across his throat. Natalie grinned and patted The Thin Man's knee as she understood what he was so worried about. "No it's okay. Alex didn't make those muffins." Letting out a defeated sigh he gave up trying to change anything. It couldn't really be as bad as Bosley made it sound...could it?  
  



	3. Chapter 3

Author's inchoerent babbling: Hi and thank you for all the lovely reviews you've given me. I have some surprises in this chapter, and a new character is introduced! It's based on someone somewhat famous, but I didn't completely copy off of them, I added my own stuff so that their character could work in the plot. ^_^ The song that the orchestra plays as the song for the part that I can't say because it'll spoil it is "Close To You" by The Carpenters but I prefer the version Barenaked Ladies did but this version is instrumental only. Ha! I did it again, I've written too much aside from the story. Okay you can read now.  
  
_Kenley Mannor 8:30pm_  
  
Dylan, and Alex approached the door one on each side of The Thin Man their arm linked with his. Looking up from his magazine the security looked the three up and down giving a snicker at their costumes. "Well you sure as hell ain't Larry, Moe and Curly so who are ya?"   
  
"I'm Jessica Rabbit" Dylan moved her head just right so her hair would fall in front of her left eye. The Thin Man who had come as he normally dress simply opened his mouth to reveal two vampire teeth that Natalie had blended in where his canine teeth would have been.  
  
Alex gave a sigh before reciting what Natalie told her to and taking pose. "I'm Sailor Mars and in the name of the moon, I will punish you!"  
  
The security guard gave a snicker again. "You three should all join a freak circus," he said taking the invitation from Dylan.   
  
As he said the word 'circus' Dylan felt The Thin Man tense and pull slightly towards the security guard. "Relax," Dylan whispered. Taking the invitation from the guard she looked him up and down. "I like your costume, but which of the three little pigs are you supposed to be?" she asked questioningly before heading inside. From the corner of her eye she saw The Thin Man's lips had crooked into a small smile.  
  
"I'm going to go find Nat and let her in so we can look for the box. You just keep your eye on Kenley" Alex said before heading over to the staircase her skirt bouncing as she went.  
  
"Wait!" Dylan called pushing her hair from in front of her eye. "Which one is Kenley?" but Alex was already at the top and heading to the right. "Great, I don't suppose you know." she looked to the Thin Man who looked as baffled as she did. As she looked around for someone important looking (which was hard to begin with due to the costumes) the orchestra came back from their short rest and began playing a song Dylan had heard somewhere before. As the slow melody began The Thin Man took a hold of her arm lightly and guided her over to where some people had begun to dance. "Hey, what..." she stopped mid-sentence realizing what his intentions were.   
  
His hand slid down from her arm into her hand while he slid his arm around her waist pulling her against his body and began to slowly waver with her. Chills rose up on Dylan's bare arms as the scent of his hair came to her sense of smell. It was at that moment she felt him slowly inhale the scene of her hair. _I'm turning into him_ she thought for a second but pushed the thought aside and closed her eyes letting him guide her. He let go of her hand running his up the length of her arm til he reached her hair. Lost in her own little world Dylan barely felt him running his fingers in it. As the song came to an end he grasped a small segment of hair and yanked like he had done many times before.   
  
"Ow!" Dylan cried a little louder than she should have. She pulled from him massaging the now bare and raw spot watching as he rubbed the hair against his cheek breathing heavily as if he was out of breath. "You're a real mood killer you know that?" she said trying to cover the spot with some other hair. "And you better be careful that you don't get high off of it. Do you know how much hair spray I had to use to get it to look like this?" She jokingly added but The Thin Man was already starting to inhale the strands with a look of tranquil on his face. Dylan rolled her eyes scanning the people around remembering she was to be looking out for Kenley.   
  
"Hey, I'm going to go over to the bar to get a drink and ask about Ke..." Dylan drifted off as she looked over to the bar. Standing there as menacingly as he did in her dreams was Seamus O'Grady, the only difference was the scar healing over his left eye. She turned to get The Thin Man's attention. "Seamus!" she said softly gazing over to the bar but when she looked back he had already gone. Looking to The Thin Man's face she found him looking at her uncertain. _He probably thinks I was seeing things....was I?_ Dylan thought suddenly her throat feeling very dry. "Could you walk over with me?" she asked feeling rather embarrassed. The Thin Man gave a small nod tucking the pulled hair into a pocket and putting his arm lightly around her waist as he escorted her over.  
  
  
"You should see this Nat," Alex said watching Dylan and The Thin Man from the top of the stairs. She and Natalie had been the only two to need the molar mics since they were the two most involved in getting the box back. Dylan had wanted to wear one incase they had needed help but Alex was able to talk her out of it luckily.  
  
"Ooh!" Natalie squealed wising she wasn't already back on the roof. _"What's going on?"_  
  
"The Thin Man has his arm around her waist," she said watching the two over at the bar. "And she doesn't seem to be minding it. Or she's just not doing anything about it."  
  
Natalie gave a small giggle. _"You're kidding! Do you think he likes her?"_  
  
"Is the sky blue?" Alex said sarcastically. "I'd hate to break it up but we should get out of here before those guys we stuck in the closet regain consciousness. We'll meet you outside," Alex said heading down the stairs. When she reached the bar she walked up next to Dylan whispering in her ear. "We need to get out of here."  
  
"Why did you run into some trouble?" Dylan asked as Alex lead them outside to where they would meet Natalie but Alex didn't answer her.  
  
"Over here!" Natalie called out as quietly as she could from behind a parked car after spotting the three. "I parked kind of far away, so I hope you don't mind walking." she said once they got closer.  
  
Alex looked over her shoulder at the security that was nearing with their flashlights. "Well night now I think it'd be best if we ran, I wouldn't be surprised if they found our surprise in the closet."  
  
"I chose a perfect time to wear my stilettos" Dylan muttered as she struggled to catch up with the others. "Ahh!" she cried out as her strap broke on one of the shoes causing her to fall over. The Thin Man was the first to notice and headed back to help her up. "Thanks" Dylan muttered as he helped her stand. Once she was back on both feet her he hoisted her over his shoulder and went to catch up with the others. "Hey! What do you think you're doing? Put me down, I left my shoe!" she cried as she used her fists to pound on his back which didn't seem to stop him at all.  
  
  
Once reaching the car they all stopped to catch their breath. "I think they stopped following us, now," Natalie gasped between words while unlocking the car.   
  
"The poor little pig couldn't catch up to us," Alex mused as she sat in the passenger seat which caused a small snicker from The Thin Man.  
  
_Outside the Chateau Maramount 10:11pm_  
  
"See you in the morning," Ethan heard Dylan say before shutting the door of the car she got out of. He stood there watching as she limped over to the front door of the Chateau Maramount. "Hey, rough date?" he asked spotting the problem of her limp, a missing shoe.   
Dylan looked up somewhat startled. "Oh no, uh I went to a costume party and my shoe broke." she said desperately trying to think of his name. _He's only been your neighbor for the last year and a half... _She thought giving a quick glance at the name badge clipped to his shirt.  
  
**_Pierson Industries: Ethan Lemke_**  
  
_It's just a coincidence_ Dylan thought as Ethan held the door open for her. Even though he looked like a typical dork Ethan had always been really nice to her.  
  
"Costume party?" Ethan pondered, walking in after Dylan. "Let me guess, Jessica Rabbit?"  
  
Dylan turned around to see if he was being serious or not. "Yeah, you're the only one to have gotten it right, how did you know?"  
  
Ethan smiled as he got out his keys. "Well, _Who Framed Roger Rabbit?_ is one of my favorite movies," he quickly fibbed. "I always thought you sort of resembled her," he said while pushing his glasses up.  
  
"Really? Well my friend said I did so I guess that's why I dressed as her. I've never actually seen the movie," Dylan unlocked her door and headed inside. "Well, good-night," she called to him before shutting the door behind her.  
  
"Night," Ethan murmured to himself. As he entered his apartment he bit his lip to suppress the grin that was forming. He had talked to her again. If he was lucky he would see her tomorrow. If did, tomorrow would be the day he got up his nerve to ask Dylan to go out with him.  
  
  
Apartment 4b at Chateau Maramount 10:17pm  
  
Dylan yawned and stumbled into the kitchen for something to eat not even bothering to put the lights on. Opening the freezer door she stood their a minute before deciding she was too tired to fix anything. Instead she dawdled into her bathroom and found enough energy to take a decent shower to get the hair spray and make-up off. Feeling a little bit more awake she went into her bedroom giving two short loud claps which turned on the lights. After getting her pajamas on she went to clap again but noticed her bedroom window was open. _I could have sworn I shut that this morning..._  
  
Walking over to the window she shut it without anymore thought and clapped twice to turn the lights back off. Climbing under the covers of the bed she had left unmade then turning a bit until she was comfortably lying on her stomach. With her eyes closed she slowly began to drift into sleep until she felt the an move around her waist. 


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Inchorent Babbling: Hi again! :D Sorries but this isn't going to be a Seamus/Dylan fic. I don't know if I could ever write one of those..._; I mean you saw how convinced Seamus was to kill Dylan. But guess what? You do get to learn more about Ethan (Yeah I know your really excited about that! :P) and he's in the plot more. You also find out---er can't tell you that. You'll just have to read!  
  
The night Chad supposed her in her room was the same night she dumped him and started keeping the knife under her pillow. Reaching under the pillow she grasped the handle. So far whoever was in her bed had only put their arm around her waist but she wasn't about to let them do anything more.   
  
Swiftly Dylan sat straight up in bed tossing the knife in the air. Giving two quick claps the lights popped back on just as she caught the knife by the handle and giving a strong shriek to startle the attacker with the knife raised behind her head ready to strike.   
  
The attacker who had not been expecting that to happen gave a shrill scream as they got caught in the sheets causing them to fall to the floor. Dylan slowly inched her way over to where the assailant was lying under the sheets not moving. With the knife poised she grabbed at the sheets and uncovered the attacker only to find The Thin Man starring up at her wide eyed.  
  
Dylan let go of the sheets and sat back down on her bed while The Thin Man tried to sit up. "What do you think you were doing in my bed?!" she yelled. The Thin Man looked to the floor avoiding her eyes. "Never mind, I want you to go home, now!" She said getting back up and helping him stand. "If you want I can drive you there if it's not too far." The Thin Man just kept looking at the ground. "...You don't have anywhere to stay do you?" Slowly yet unwillingly he shook his head no.  
  
Dylan sat back on the bed. She knew what it had been like having no where to go. After Seamus was put behind bars she had no home or friends to turn to. "I'm sorry I yelled at you," she softly mumbled. Reaching out for his wrist she pulled him onto the bed so he was sitting next to her. "Where did you stay all last week?" The Thin Man finally looked at her then patted the bed. "You're kidding!" she said incredulously. "How did you get in?" He nodded towards the window.   
  
Dylan sighed. "I don't know what to do with you. I can't kick you outside, and I can't let you stay here...or maybe I can." she said suddenly getting an idea. Grabbing the extra pillow on her bed she went over to her closet and took out a comforter from the top shelf. "Follow me" she called over her shoulder. When The Thin Man walked into the living room Dylan had already spread out the comforter on the couch and put the pillow at one end. "You're going to be a little hot if you sleep in that suit." Dylan noted but The Thin Man ignored her and got under the comforter. "Good-night" she whispered to him before turning the living room lights off and returning to her own room where she locked the door. Not because she didn't trust him but..._Just incase_ she thought before getting back into bed, fixing the sheets and falling fast asleep just a few minutes later.  
  
  
"Good morning" Dylan called out as she entered the kitchen. "What do you want for breakfast?" she asked while rummaging through her freezer. "I have microwavable pancakes or waffles." After waiting for a reply it sunk in. _He doesn't talk_ she remembered. Taking both out she walked into the living room looking both boxes over. "Okay which would you rather have? Neither look very appetizing..." She looked to the couch only to find the blanket half way to the floor. "Hey...Thin Man?" she asked curiously. Looking around the room she noticed the sliding door was slightly ajar. Walking over she saw he had crudely tied the section of hair around the handle. Putting both boxes down she untied the hair and put it to her nose. Giving a small sniff she realized why he left it behind. It had lost it's scent. Closing the door and locking it she decided she wasn't going to give The Thin Man another chance to rip her hair.  
  
  
_Outside apartment 4b at Chateau Maramount--8:20am_  
  
Dylan stepped into the hallway locking her door behind her. As she was about to leave Ethan stepped out of his apartment looking up at her. "Oh hey Dylan, wow...never seen you with your hair in a ponytail before..." he said observing it. "On your way to work?"  
  
"Yeah I am. My hair is finally long enough so I thought I'd try it," Dylan said as she started to walk out with Ethan.   
  
"Hey, can I ask you a question?" Ethan asked trying to steady the way the words came out.   
  
"Yeah, sure." Dylan looked to Ethan wondering why he sounded nervous.  
  
"Well uh, I've ...I like...I think you're keen," he finally sputtered out. _My goodness did I just say 'keen'?_ he thought appalled. "I mean I think your nice,"  
  
Dylan smiled. "Aw, I think you're nice too, is that what you were so worried about saying?"  
  
Ethan stopped by front door. "No, uh...I was wondering...maybe sometime if you weren't too busy...if you'd...go out with me?"  
  
Dylan smile grew bigger until she could hold it in anymore and began to laugh. "Oh that...was good." she attempted to say between laughing. Looking to his face she stopped when she saw he wasn't laughing. "You weren't...Oh God...I'm-"  
  
Ethan tried to vaguely smile. "Naw, it's okay. I've got to go to work now. Bye." He said the last few words with no emotion and pushed past Dylan into the bright outside. Dylan watched as he walked down the sidewalk holding his case by the handle. _I've just broken his poor little heart_. Dylan felt as if she wanted to go back inside and crawl back under the covers but some how she managed to push herself on outside and into her car.  
  
  
_Pierson Industries Computer Lab Room 1-9--8:40am_  
  
The box was the easy part to open. The hard part was the code. He pushed the disc in to the drive until he heard it lock in place. Opening the drive on the computer he saw the only type of file was a text file. _It couldn't be this easy could it?_ Double clicking the file it opened to read plain and simple:  
  


**426-7437766**  


  
But it was that easy. All he had to do was insert the code into the program and the world was literally at his fingertips. The Government wouldn't be able to stop him...nobody would. He quickly typed the numbers and slid the mouse over to submit giving it a click. _"ACCESS DENIED" _flashed on to the screen. Holding his breath he double checked each number. It was correct so what went wrong?  
  
He jumped at the sound at the door. He hadn't told anyone about the room except for Janey. Peeking through the blinds he saw Jane standing looking rather nervous. Quickly he unlocked the door and ushered her in. "Did anyone see you?" he asked.  
  
"No one darling" she said wrapping her arms around him only to be shoved off.   
  
"Not now, the code...it's not working," he said sitting back in front of the computer. As if expecting it he picked up the cell phone just as it rang. After pulling out the antennae he pressed talk. "Pierson here. Yes, everything went fine this morning. They dropped off the box back at Townsend's place last night just like I thought. Yeah, sure thing Kenley. You'll be the first to know. Okay."   
  
Pressing stop he put the phone down and looked to Janey. "We need to figure out this code, and fast. Get on that other computer and try going through the worker directory to find the one who works best at solving puzzles."  
  
Jane sat down and turned the machine on. "Will it have that information?" she asked skeptically.  
  
"Yeah, hurry up! It should be under intelligence or something..." Ian took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. It would be a long day and would only get longer if he sat around doing nothing so he grabbed a note pad and began to write down important dates.  
  
  
  
_Pierson Industries somewhere on the 4th Floor-- 8:50am_  
  
"Hey Joe," Ethan said throwing his work bag on top of a short filling cabinet.   
  
"Dude, you sound like you're having a bumin' morning. What's the matter?" Joe said after taking a swig from his flask.  
  
Flopping back in his chair Ethan replayed Dylan's reaction in his head over and over. "She laughed at me. I asked like you told me to and she laughed at me..."  
  
"No loss dude, she's probably a flooz-"  
  
"Don't talk about Dylan like that," Ethan snapped. "She's very nice, I've never seen any proof that she's a ...well that type."  
  
  
"Okay, chill," Joe held his hands up in surrender then took a glance at the flask her held. "Here, you look like you could use some," He said holding it out to Ethan.  
  
"Are you kidding! We could get caught!" Ethan said his eyes growing wide at the thought. Giving a quick side glance to make sure the door wasn't going to open he grabbed the flask and began to drink.  
  
Just as Joe gave Ethan a cheer on, the door opened. "Ethan Lemke?" the voice said from the door way. Ethan being startled tried to stop from drinking anymore and what was left in his mouth sputtered out and went down the wrong direction. "I guess that'd be you," the voice continued as Ethan coughed.   
  
"Mr. Pierson" Ethan's voice squeaked. "Uhm..I am..ah.."  
  
"Mr. Lemke, let me make this short. I need your help." Taking a glance over at Joe who was busy refilling his flask he whispered so that Ethan could only hear. "Let's talk about this alone, shall we?"   
  
  
  
_Charles Townsend Agency--9:00am_  
  
"So he just came in this morning at 8 and got the box?" Natalie asked putting the third sugar packet in her coffee.   
  
"Yeah," Bosley said. He was sitting at the desk updating the books once again. "He said it was important that he have it."  
  
"Probably so that he could take over where his father left off." Alex snatched the fourth packet of sugar from Natalie before she could put it in her coffee. "I wonder what was on that code....well if Kenley stole it once, he may steal it again so we should keep our eye on him."  
  
  
"Good morning!" Dylan called out when she entered.  
  
"Wow, someone's awake this morning," Natalie said before taking a sip of her coffee.  
  
"Yeah, well I'm awake but not doing all that great." Dylan said sitting on the couch.  
  
As if getting the special code Alex and Natalie sat on each side of Dylan. "Uh oh, sounds like guy trouble. What's the matter?" Natalie put her coffee down on the table disregarding it due to the excessive amount of sugar.  
  
"It's not a guy I like, but a guy that likes me. You see Ethan my next door neighbor asked me out this morning and I ...thought it was joke but the poor guy was serious." Dylan fussed with the polish on one of her nails as she told about what had happened that morning.  
  
  
Alex gave an annoyed sigh after finding out that is what had been wrong. "He'll get over it. Now...any other guys in your life?" She said trying to see where things were going with their creepy friend.   
  
"No, there haven't been any for a long time." Dylan suspected something in the tone of Alex's voice. "Why?"  
  
"No reason," Natalie quickly covered for Alex. "Hey you don't know where The Thin Man was last night do you?"  
  
Dylan looked from Natalie to Alex wondering if they had known about last night all along. "No...should I?" She asked innocently enough.  
  
"Well, Nat and I were driving over here last night after dropping you off and he got out of the car while we were at a red light, we haven't seen him since. Wouldn't be surprised if he didn't show up again. He doesn't want to be stuck working here." Alex glanced at Natalie as she continued. "Speaking of The Thin Man...how are things going between you two?"  
  
  
Dylan's eyes narrowed trying to figure out what Alex had meant by that. "What do you mean?"  
  
"What she means is..." Natalie started to come to Alex's rescue again, but then decided to just ask it. "Do you like him?" Bosley who had obviously been listening secretly looked up his pencil poised on the paper.  
  
Dylan stood turning around to look at the two to see if they were serious. "Like him?" she cried. Walking around to the other side of the couch she back up slowly stopping once her hand was on the knob as she continued talking . "Oh I see what you guys are up to. The whole thing leaving me and him alone, well last night he ripped my hair again!" she said pointing at the spot where hair was covering it. "Now if you think I actually want to date a guy who get pleasure out of ripping my hair think again!" Dylan clamored before opening the door and coming face to face with The Thin Man. 


End file.
